Financier Cotter Named Acting Citadel Chairman

Financier James J. Cotter, who already has regulatory approval to buy control of Citadel Holding Corp., has been named acting chairman of the Glendale-based parent of Fidelity Federal Bank. He succeeds Edward L. Kane, who resigned last week for what the savings and loan called personal reasons.

Kane remains president of Craig Corp., the Los Angeles-based supermarket and real estate holding company, which also has a 9% stake in Citadel. Cotter owns a 36% stake in Craig.

Citadel also said Vice Chairman Thomas C. Weir has stated his intention to resign from the boards of Citadel and Fidelity as soon as Cotter becomes acting chairman late this month or in early December.

The resignations followed Citadel’s announcement of a $32.7-million loss in the third quarter compared to a year-earlier profit of $4.9 million. For the nine months ended Sept. 30, Citadel reported losses of $21.2 million compared with a $19-million profit last year.

The holding company blamed the downturn on a sharp increase in provisions against loan and real estate losses, to $52.4 million during the first three quarters of 1991, compared to $8.9 million for the same period in 1990.